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I’ve been swimming through muslin hell this whole week (crazy me decided to even make a SECOND MUSLIN to verify all my changes, wtf who am I turning into amirite), but fortunately, I have an old make from pre-Maine that I can share with y’all! Jeans! Yay!

Remember when we were all scrambling around to buy those fancy Cone Mills Denim kits with our Ginger Jeans earlier this year (and last year too, for that matter)? I’m so happy that I made space in my budget for one, because Cone Mills denim is awesome. It’s the same denim they used to make Imogene + Willie jeans (which I can personally vouch for as I own 2 pairs – they wear really well and hold their shape beautifully, which means I never need to wash them in order to shrink ’em back down at the end of the day), and although the kit wasn’t cheap – it is certainly cheaper than buying the actual jeans. By the way, if you’re thinking, “Where the hell is this kit so I can buy one???” I’m sorry to be the one to tell you that they were on limited pre-order, and have been sold out for a while now 😦 Hopefully there will be more where that came from!

EDIT I have just been informed that Threadbare Fabrics sells Cone Mills Denim! Yay!! I apologize in advance for those who end up emptying their bank accounts after reading this post 🙂

Anyway, the point of that somewhat sales-y sounding paragraph was to say that I finally used one of the pieces of my denim for this pair of pants. I received the kit way back in April and have been anxious to sew it up, but I wanted to wait until it was actually something closer to pants-season before I got too excited.

Also, just a head’s up before we delve too far into this post – sorry in advance for all the weird bobble-head shots. I didn’t realize my camera was tilted so much, and I don’t care enough to retake the photos. Also, there be VPL in most of these pictures. Not sorry about that! Deal with it!

The denim itself is what really counts when it comes to a good pair of jeans. You want a material that is a good medium weight (not too light, but also not too heavy) and if it has stretch, an awesome recovery. The single thing that’s plagued me the most when it comes to making my own pants is finding material with a good recovery! I hate having my pants bag out by the end of the day – it’s annoying enough for every day life, and utterly useless if you’re traveling and don’t have access for a quick wash (or just plain don’t own a washer and dryer, which was totally my situation up until we moved this year!). Plus, washing denim too much can fade out the color and cause the fibers to break down faster. I like my jeans to be a really deep, dark indigo blue, so fading isn’t my first choice. Figuring out fabric recovery is really difficult to do without actually wearing the fabric – which means you have to sew it first. So whenever someone gives me a head’s up on some good stretch bottomweight, I tend to snap it up without hesitation. I knew the Cone Mills denim was good stuff, so I’m glad I was able to get my hands on some before it sold out.

Having made this pattern numerous times made me feel confident enough to break into my mega-expensive denim for the pair you see here. I knew I already had the fit pretty good, so I could focus more on visual details with this version. That being said, there are a few changes to this pair that aren’t evident in my previous makes.

The biggest change is that I went up one size, to a 4. While I like the fit of the 2 (all my other Gingers are 2s, fyi!), I’ve gained a little bit of weight over the summer and I got this weird paranoia that I was in denial about my size. Those 2s are great and super comfortable, but the legs are so tight that they look painted on. I was horrified at the thought of people thinking I was trying to squeeze into a too-small size, so I went up to the next size. I think the 4 definitely fits better, but the are a little different. Namely – those wrinkles at the knee. What is the deal with those? The calves aren’t too tight (they are looser than the tightness on my 2s, and my 2s don’t wrinkle like that), so that’s not the issue. Maybe they’re too loose at the knee and need to be taken in a bit? Thoughts? Btw, the wrinkles look worse in photos than they do in real life!

Since I was going up one size and I don’t trace, I had to reprint the pattern. I know Heather updated the Ginger jeans pattern at some point last year, and I had both an original version (that I got when it was first released) and an updated version (that came with my purchased denim kit). I printed the new version so I could try it and compare to the original one. I don’t recall exactly what changes were made to the jeans, but there are some slight differences in the rise and the shaping around the crotch and hips. The waist is definitely a lot higher than it is in the original version – and this was after I shortened the crotch. The major difference in the updated version is the pocket bags – instead of normal jeans pocket bags, there is a drafted pocket stay (also called an instant tummy tuck).

With a pocket stay, the pocket bags go all the way across the front into the fly. This helps pull everything in and give you a smooth line in the front (hence the tummy tuck name). I wasn’t sure if it would be comfortable, but I tried it anyway and I’m glad that I did! I don’t care about smooth lines or whatever (I mean, c’mon, I’m basically always rocking dem VPLs. Death to thongs!), but what I do love is that the pockets stay in place when you pull your pants on. You know how tight pants always have to get the pockets shoved back down after you go to the bathroom? Not with these babies! Plus, since the pocketing isn’t folded over anywhere, there isn’t a weird bump at the coin pocket. I never was a fan of that.

All the topstitching and jeans-y details are what really made these fun to sew up! I just love the way jeans topstitching thread looks when sewn up against denim, so good. I kept my I+W jeans on hand and used their stitching colors as inspiration for this pair (here’s an old post where I took close-ups of the jeans right after I bought them, if you’re curious). The kits came with the zipper, button, rivets, copper topstitching thread and denim needles. However, you can buy all that stuff individually as well – Taylor Tailor has most of it in his supply shop for really reasonable prices. I did buy the orange topstitching thread from Taylor Tailor, which I think looks awesome next to the gold topstitching.

Now that I’ve overloaded you with pictures of my butt and crotch, here are some flat jeans shots.

As you can see, I used the orange topstitching thread pretty sparingly – just for the bartacks and belt loops. I can’t say I thought of this myself, as I pulled the inspo straight from my I+W jeans. They also use a third topstitching color in the second line of stitching, which is not something I did with this pair. Also note that the I+W jeans don’t use rivets, but I did use them here. I love hammering those things in and I think they really finish off the jeans nicely. I just kept them on the front pockets and coin pocket – I don’t like the look of rivets on the back pockets.

Again, using my I+W jeans as inspiration – I flat-felled only the back yoke seam, and serged + topstiched the leg seams (this will make it way easier to take in the legs if I need to, so yay!). I used orange thread in my serger, which mimics the orange bartacks. I LOVE the way it looks!

Whew! Sorry about all that cat hair!

This is my absolute favorite little detail of these pants – the side leg bartack is a little L for Lauren 🙂 On my I+W jeans, they have a little + sign on one leg in place of a bartack, and I thought, hey I can do that with an L. It’s only on one side, and it’s quite subtle unless you already know it’s there.

Welp, that ended up being a super long post! Do you see now why I love making jeans so much? All the little details are so fun and make the end result look extremely professional. Not to mention, all the customization options – from fit, to denim, to topstitching details. I’m so glad Heather released the Ginger pattern and I’m even happier than we were able to get some of that fancy-ass denim to make it up with! I still have one more piece for one more pair of jeans – and I’m thinking I might do the low-rise version next. Could be fun!

70 Responses to “Completed: Fancy Cone Mills Ginger Jeans”

Thanks for supporting the economy of my home town! For a long time, 90% of the denim woven in the world was made by Cone Mills, and most of that was made in Greensboro, North Carolina. I grew up using their products, both in Wrangler rtw jeans (also headquartered here) and in sewing my own denim lovelies. (I came of age in the 1970s. It was a denim world, back then.)

Those knee wrinkles may be due to the weight of the denim. Unless you do not plan ever to move while wearing those jeans, you hem to give your pant legs enough length to accommodate the bending of your knees when you walk, or squat, or sit. Heavier denim has a better “memory” for those bends; and that little bit of extra length tends to creep upwards just enough to wrinkle around your knees. It’s too heavy to creep up to the top of your thigh, and not heavy enough to fall back down around your ankles. Wider legged pants don’t act like this, because there’s enough horizontal ease to prevent the creeping.

It’s such a shame that they don’t continue to produce most of the denim used… it’s SUCH good stuff and so lovely to wear!! I’m just happy that I was able to get my hands on some for sewing 🙂

That was one thing I considered regarding the wrinkles – the denim weight and recovery. However, neither of my I+W jeans have the wrinkles, so I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Those jeans are a little tighter around the knee, though, so that’s probably why.

I use two machines to sew jeans (three if you count my serger) – the piecing is done on a Pfaff 7570, and the topstitching is with my Bernina 350PE. You don’t necessarily need two separate machines, but it is helpful to not have to change the thread out over and over! Also, most home machines can handle denim (even the inexpensive machines). Just make sure you use a proper denim needle and go slowly over bulky seams. Pounding them flat with a hammer helps, too 🙂

I really lurv this pair. For your rivets, do you not need ‘spacers’? I found with mine (not from the TT shop) that I needed another piece of fabric in between them otherwise they punched right through.

I haven’t with any of the pairs I’ve made; the thickness of the denim is perfect for the length of the rivets. However, one of the girls in my retreat made jeans and we found out that we needed to cut a LOT of the rivet off before it stopped punching through the fabric. She used the same kit I had, so I dunno!

Fabulous jeans. Those knee wrinkles might be down to inward knees. Ask me how I know! You need a slightly longer inseam from crotch to knee. Cation Designs did a great blog a few years back about the adjustment. It’s also called a knock-kneed adjustment. Ha! Unless you did that already?

All my googling led me to a knock-knee adjustment, but I’m skeptical because this pair of jeans is literally the ONLY time I’ve had this problem. Even earlier versions of this pattern – not to mention other patterns and RTW from various brands – didn’t have the knee wrinkles. So I’m not sure if that’s the answer here!

It may be apparent on this pair because i imagine the length of the inseam was slightly longer than the size 2? This would put the knees further down the inseam, if that makes sense? I always try to shorten trousers above and below the knee when making from scratch for that reason.

These look great! I just finished my first pair of Gingers and am really debating going down a size on my next pair because they stretch out pretty bad by the middle of day three, but maybe with the Cone Mill denim which I bought this week I should just trust the recommended sizing.

I would trust the recommended sizing for your next pair! Cone Mills should hold it’s shape pretty well. My I+W jeans get washed like twice a year, and they don’t bag out at all (or smell, for that matter! haha!).

I have no problem being in sales mode. Hands down, my two pairs of Gingers from the Cone denim kits are the best jeans I have ever had. Love the denim, love the pattern, love that I don’t have waist gaps like I almost always have in RTW and love that they are made by me and for me. Third fav is my I & W jeans that I bought last year while in Nashville. Even old gals like me love good jeans.

Your jeans look awesome, and I know what it’s like to cut into the kit denim for the first time – so exciting!! I also love the different colored bar tacks – I figure that’s a good way to use pink topstitching thread that I have, without being too nuts.

And Nicole above already said it, but I loved the Cone Mills denim so much that I’m now selling it (threadbarefabrics.com) – with continuous stock of 11.5oz S-Gene, 9oz S-Gene, and two others. Sorry for the sales pitch, but Cone Mills denim is available to us again! 😀

Yaaas, cone mill!! They look awesome, of course. I haven’t broken into mine yet. I’m pretty sure I want to make one more pair to work on tweaks before I commit to my cone mill kit (tragically I’ve discovered many months later the cheapo denim on my first pair was actually pretty damn awesome in its own right and has worn great, only to not be able to repurchase it *cries*), but I can’t wait until I do! And SUPER pumped you shared about Threadbare Fabrics, yee haw!

Oh yeah, I hate it when you realize your cheapo denim is actually pretty awesome after it becomes too late to buy more! I wish I’d done that with some of the black twill I made my Jamie jeans out of. Oh well! At least we will now always have Cone Mills ♥ haha!

Hey! I just looked at my I + W jeans and my 3rd color for bar tacks and belt loop tacks is a deep deep hunter green that is a little more grey. That color combo looks spicy too if you want other ideas. Boss jeans Lauren!

They look so good! It was so cool to see and get my hands on cone mills denim at the retreat. I’ve been on the hunt for some since we got back. I love my gingers but the jean material, even from mood, just doesn’t hold its shape at all. I did notice that Taylor is selling denim in his shop too. He’s got the dark indigo that is so nice with the red line selvedge 🙂

Dunno if you saw the update, but Threadbare Fabrics sells Cone Mills! Now you can get you some, too! 😀

Taylor does sell Cone Mills, but it’s the rigid/selvedge denim, not stretch. The Ginger jeans pattern is designed for stretch, so if you decide to go with his denim, make sure you adjust the pattern accordingly. Personally, I like a little stretch in my pants 🙂

Seriously digging how awesome these jeans look! But man–I’ve got the Ginger pattern on my to-sew list for this fall, and now I’m itching to go download it and get started. 😉 (I really need to finish the two tops I’m making right now before I get totally distracted though. Blah.) I have really struggled with finding good jeans at a reasonable price, and am hoping I can work out the fitting of the Gingers so I can eventually splurge on some Cone Mills. That stuff looks amazing!

Yeah, good jeans are difficult to find these days! Which is why I’d rather make them, but finding good fabric can also be tricky! I always feel like I hit the jackpot when I get a good piece (and then pissed at myself for not buying more of it hahaha). Plus, they are super fun to make, so it’s a win/win all around 🙂

These look so great! I am very new to sewing, so fear that jeans may be a little ambitious for me just yet, but I am so inspired by your post! I recently discovered Hudson jeans, but they’re kind of pricey here, so I just have one pair that I wear almost daily. If I could make jeans myself I would be one happy girl!

Hey now, ain’t no shame in wearing the same pair of jeans daily. If they work for you (and ESPECIALLY if you dumped a lot of money into buying them!), then let them do the work!! 🙂 But yeah, being able to make them is pretty nice too! 🙂

Hey! Awesome Jeans! I have bought the Ginger Jeans pattern, but have yet to dive into it. They seem to work for everyone.
Anyhow, have you ever listened to the podcast Thread Cult? There is a whole episode on jeans with Angela Wolf. She talks about buying Jean & how to determine whether it will bag etc. I haven’t looked her up, but it seems that she has a lot of advice about making jeans. (Her first pair took her 12 Muslins.)

I had the same issue on the knees with my second pair. I made all the pattern in size 8 (according to my measurements) but my legs seemed to be skinnier. For my third version I made a size 8 for hips and waist and a 6 for the legs. I shortened the back leg to remove all the pleats at the back calf. As a result, the leg is skinnier and the knee is smoother.
When I look at your photos, I have the impression that you have a little excess of fabric at the back leg 😉 Sway back mysteries ! I have the same here 🙂

There is definitely some excess in the back leg of my jeans! What is weird about it is that I’ve never had that problem with any other pair of pants (whether RTW, or a different pattern, or even this SAME pattern sewn in a different size! I tried on a bunch of my pants to figure out if maybe I was crazy and this was an ongoing issue that I never noticed). So I guess it’s specific to only this size? Sway back mysteries indeed, wtf! 🙂

Personnally, I have this issue on RTW, my back leg looks like a “saucisson” (dried sausage) under the bottom and in the mid calf xD, this is why I decided to make my own. I really think that stretch fabric doesn’t react the same way if it is stretched or not. I don’t know if I express correctly my idea but if I compare my first (size 6 everywhere : https://myhandmadecloset.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/le-jean-slim-ginger-de-closet-case-patterns/) and the second (size 8 everywhere, this one is awfuuuul !!) https://myhandmadecloset.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/une-tenue-la-blouse-venue-et-un-second-ginger/, I have more pleats with the biggest one. So you have 2 kind of pleats : those created by using a too small size (small pleats but long, very tight and horizontal), and those created by and excess of fabric (more curved and bigger).
But when I decided to modify the back calf in height (not in width), it had a consequence on these pleats (even if they were horizontal, it can be a vertical problem). Anyway, reducing the back leg length solved the problem on the knee pleats, yeh !
Heather told me not to focuse on the under seat pleats. On skinny jeans, I’ll always have some. Making them disappear shouldn’t become an obsession or a sewing quest 😀
Sway back mysteries : my body measurements called for a size 42 for the Brume skirt of Deer and Doe, it was way too big, I made it in size 38…I think I need a fitting class xD

Hi!
Your posts are so helpful!!! I finally took the plunge and made a pair of Ginger mid rise jeans!
I use the Cone Mills stretch 9.5oz from Threadbare. I love them! Made a straight 6 but shorten the length by 3 inches. My only issue is that they are tight in my calves. I have several RTW skinny jeans and have never had this problem. I use the shorten/lengthen line to shorten and just wondered if that something to do with calf? That being said…I am so happy with the waist, crotch and all that hard stuff. But, do you have any suggestions for my next jeans adventure. I love the Cone Mills, but wondered if I needed a denim with more stretch? And…I still want to take a jeans class from you!!! Thanks again for all you do for the sewing community! Alyson Ray

Hello! I had the same issue with my jeans – the calves are too tight (and having taught many, many people how to make these jeans – this is not an uncommon problem). What you need to do is add some room to the calf on the flat pattern. I wrote about it in this post, but you are basically doing a slash and spread adjustment to one section of the back leg, kind of like an FBA for your calves.

And yes, you should take a jeans class 🙂 We have SO MUCH FUN those weekends haha! 🙂

[…] the list as far as what impresses people the most😉 You can see my Gingers here – skinnies, Cone Mills 1, Cone Mills 2, gold denim, red stretch twill, and Jorts! The pattern that goes on forever, […]

[…] in case you were curious -I also made the rest of my outfit! The jeans are Cone Mills Ginger jeans, and my tshirt is a Renfew made with bamboo knit ♥ that knit is another fabric I buy over and and […]